Another Lifetime
by OTHfan13
Summary: Haley & Nathan have been dating for 3 years, but what happens when Nathan decides to join the military?
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! So this is my second story, but my first was several years ago under another penname. I've just been reading a lot of stories lately and it inspired my own and I decided that only I could write this story because of the personal connection I have. Let me know what you think, the good, bad, and ugly. However, I'll warn you now that because I'm a college student I may not be able to update as often as some of the other writers on here. Bear with me though because I believe this story will be worth your while. Thanks P.S – I love Naley!

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I've never been good at saying goodbye, especially to someone like Nathan Scott. You never think about it, saying goodbye, until it happens to you. The worst part is feeling that person's absence everyday and knowing that there is absolutely nothing that anyone can do for you. I met Nathan three years ago when we were in high school. He was the bad boy that could care less if he hurts someone, then I came along. I never thought you could change a person, until I changed Nathan Scott.

I guess you could say he was your typical jock, but he was so much more than that. His blue eyes pierced through me whenever he looked at me, and his raven colored hair made his eyes look like deep oceans that any girl could get lost in. I'm not just any girl though, I'm Haley James. Tutor-Girl as known by my best friends, Peyton Sawyer and Brooke Davis. Lucas Scott was by far my best guy friend, who just so happened to be Nathan's half brother. I never meant to fall for Nathan because I knew how much Lucas hated him and his father for abandoning Lucas and his mom, Karen.

Some say I knew what I was getting myself into when I began dating Nathan, but I honestly didn't. I never thought I could feelings for someone like this. He is and always will be the love of my life, but right now we are apart. Nathan decided college wasn't the way for him right now so he decided to join the Marines. He left for basic and I haven't heard from him in two weeks. I just got his address from his mom, Deb, so I'm waiting anxiously for a letter to appear in my mailbox. Brooke, Peyton, and I live in an apartment on campus at UNC.

"Brooke! Brooke, where are you?" I said walking into the apartment, slamming the door unintentionally behind me.

"In here Hales!" came a voice from the back bedroom, which belonged to Brooke.

"Hey Brooke, have you check our mailbox today?" I said in an anxious voice.

"Why yes Haley James, I did" Brooke said with a sly smile.

I then ran to the kitchen counter, pulled the stool away from the counter and sat down, furiously attacking the stack of envelopes.

"Ugh!" I let out a frustrated sigh, seeing that all the envelopes were bills.

"Looking for this Tutor Girl?" Peyton said from the couch, holding a letter in her hand.

"Oh thank god! I've been going crazy waiting for this letter." I said plopping down next to her and grabbing the letter from her hand.

Staring at the envelope, I suddenly got nervous. I remembered saying goodbye to him, and how much it hurt both of us.

_Flashback_

_Nathan and I were sitting in my bedroom on the bed simply talking about all the good times we had with each other of the past few years._

"_God do you remember that ugly ass poncho you used to wear?" Nathan said laughing uncontrollably at the look on Haley's face when he brought up her choice of clothing, or lack there of._

"_Nathan! Don't make fun of my clothes!" I said, faking hurt._

"_Aww Hales, you know I'm kidding" Nathan said pulling me to him._

"_I know" I said laughing "I just enjoy picking on you" I said smiling widely._

"_Very funny Hales! But now it's time to talk about me leaving" Nathan said, suddenly becoming serious._

"_Oh right…that" I said becoming sad just thinking about him leaving._

"_baby, we'll get through it. I know we will because what we have is incomparable." Nathan said, looking me dead in the eye._

"_I love you" I said, kissing him softly on the cheek._

"_I love you too, always and forever" Nathan said. I suddenly felt like I was going to cry, but as soon as tears were about to flood out of my eyes, I felt a tear drop on my forehead. Knowing it was Nathan crying, I turned to face him. _

"_Nate, please don't cry" I'd never seen him cry before and it was completely breaking my heart to see him to it now. _

"_I'm worried about leaving you Hales, is that a crime?" Nathan said, sounding irritated._

"_No of course it isn't Nathan, it's hard for me too, I just hate to see you cry"_

_Nathan then pulled me into an embrace and we spent the rest of our last night together, eventually falling asleep peacefully. _

_End of Flashback_

The letter felt hot in my hands and I don't know why I was so nervous to read it, but for whatever reason I was. I felt my hands start to shake and Peyton looked at me confusingly.

"Haley, what's wrong?" Peyton said, concern filling her voice.

"I don't know Peyt, I'm scared."

"What the hell are you scared of?"

"I'm scared that after two weeks of no contact, he won't feel the same about me anymore." I said covering my eyes, beginning to cry.

"Haley! That's ridiculous. Nathan loves you, he always has and he always will." Peyton said pulling me into an embrace. Salty tears had began streaming down my face uncontrollably, tasting them made me want to get sick. Suddenly feeling like I may actually get sick, I ran to the bathroom spilling my lunch into the toilet.

"oh my gosh! Haley, are you alright?!" Brooke and Peyton said in unison, standing at the doorway.

Remembering other events from our last evening, I began to get nervous.

_Flashback_

_Nathan and I had been making out for probably a half an hour before thing began to happen. In the 3 years that we had been dating, we had never had sex. Nathan knew I had always plan to wait until marriage, but somehow tonight seemed perfect._

_I slowly sat up and removed my shirt. "Haley, are you sure?" Nathan said, obviously aroused by the sight of seeing me take an item of clothing off._

"_I've never been so sure of something" I said, capturing him in another earth shattering kiss._

_Before I knew what was happening, we were both completely naked, about to give ourselves to each other. Nathan kissed his way down my flat stomach; I closed my eyes once I felt his hot breath on my thigh. I'd never experienced something like this in my life, the feeling of him sent shivers down my spine. I felt his tongue circling around my clit, wondering to myself why we hadn't done this earlier in our relationship. He eventually kissed his way back up to my neck once he'd almost brought me to orgasm. His strong body felt perfect over my smaller one and feeling the length of him at my entrance was like heaven. He slowly entered me, and I was surprised to barely feel any pain at all, but rather an immense amount of pleasure filled my body; just like he did. Going stronger and deeper with every thrust, we both came for each other. _

_After we had finished making love, we talked for hours. Eventually, I fell asleep in his strong arms._

_End of Flashback_

Standing up and flushing the toilet, I began brushing my teeth. I thought to myself that there was no possible way I could be pregnant after only one time. That kind of stuff doesn't happen to girls like me….does it?

R & R

Tell me what you don't like, do like, and stuff you want to happen! I have no ideas where this story is going right now, but that's okay…I love adventures. Hope you enjoyed it


	2. What's meant to be will happen

Thanks to those who reviewed, it meant the world to me! This story is very personal to me, with a Naley spin on it. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see happen. Hope chapter 2 is another good one for you!

I lay awake in my bedroom, and I can feel the letter that is currently on my desk mocking me from across the room. Why don't you just open it, you wimp? What are you so afraid of? I mentally answer it back with "everything". I can't be pregnant right now, I don't know for sure yet, but all I know is that it can't be true. I'm a freshman in college whose boyfriend is across the country in California right now. I sigh in frustration, getting up from my bed as I do so. I walk out of my room, down the hallway, and to the kitchen. I see my two best friends there and I suddenly feel comforted. Peyton looks at me from her position on the stool, and Brooke does the same from across the counter.

"Hey hales, did we wake you?" Peyton says before sipping on what I assume is a steaming mug of hot tea.

"No, I never got to sleep in the first place." I say, pulling out the stool next to her for myself. Brooke quickly pulls another mug out of the cabinet, throws a tea bag in it, and hands me the soothing beverage. "Thanks" I say, sadness dripping from my voice.

"Haley, no more moping. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells around you because I'm afraid to say or do something that might upset you." Brooke says, coming over to me and hugging me.

"Brooke, I'm okay…really. Things are just off right now and the person that I love is across the country, wouldn't you be upset too if Julian was where Nathan was?" I said with tear brimmed eyes. Brooke and Julian Baker had been dating for maybe a few months, but they were definitely head-over-heels about each other. He was a couple years older than us and was attempting stardom with his own movies.

"Of course Haley, you have a right to be sad, but I'm just saying that because I'm not in your position right now I don't know what to say to help you." Brooke said, walking back to the kitchen and pulling out a tub of Ben & Jerry's and three spoons. The three of us took a spoonful out to the container and savored it for a while, Peyton eventually breaking the silence.

"Why don't you tell us what would help you right now?" She said before dipping into the ice cream again.

"I honestly don't know, hell I'm not even sure if I can open that letter" I said, looking down into my lap feeling like a complete failure of a girlfriend. "Can I say something to you guys if you promise not to freak out?"

"I can't make that promise, but shoot" Brooke says leaning closer to Peyton and me.

"Well, I'm afraid that I might be pregnant" I say in one breath, afraid to look at their reactions.

Suddenly, a spray of hot tea soaks me. Peyton closes her hand over her mouth is shock and what I had just said, and what she just did.

"Thanks for that Peyt." I say, getting up to wipe myself off.

"Haley! You didn't even tell us that you guys had sex!" Brooke says, her face going from shock to hurt.

"I'm sorry, it just sort of happened" I said continuing to wipe at my clothing.

"When?" Peyton said, her voice filled with evident curiousity.

"well, a few weeks ago…before he left." I said, mentally counting backwards.

"Okay, so when is your next period supposed to be?" Brooke said, chiming in.

I walked over to the calendar on our fridge, finding the date of my last period and counting to now. "Um, looks like in a week. I guess we'll have to wait until then to find out if my life is over." I said, slumping back on my stool.

"Your life will not be over Hales, trust me." Brooke says, not sounding convincing at all.

"Maybe you should read his letter, he'll worry if you don't answer him back" Peyton says as she puts the ice cream back in the fridge, her wild curls all over the place.

"You're right. I guess I should-" I begin

"Grow a pair? You're absolutely right." Brooke says smiling widely so her dimples are prominent.

"Gee, thanks Brooke." I say, smacking her lightly on the arm.

I return to my room and grab the envelope off my desk, retreating back to the kitchen afterwards. "it's now or never" I tell myself, looking at the envelope before opening it. I slowing slide my finger through the flap and begin to tear. I pull the letter out of the envelope, taking my sweet time before reading the letter.

"Haley it doesn't take this long to open an envelope" Brooke says in obvious frustration in my movements. Peyton shoots her a glare before urging me on.

I slowly open the folded paper and seeing his beautiful penmanship makes me want to cry. I glance at the letter before I begin to read it, relief washing over me.

_Dear Haley,_

_How are you, beautiful? I hope everything is okay back home, and that Brooke and Peyton are taking care of you like they promised. Everything here is going well, everyday is a struggle but I'm pushing through for you. I try harder everyday to make you proud because you're it for me, Haley. I know that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you and I can't wait for that. It'll be difficult because of the choice I've made, and I hope that it doesn't hurt you. This life is forever, the men I've met here are now my brothers, but you will always be my girl. I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together, just you and me. I love you, always and forever._

The waterworks began and they seemed like they'd never end.

"oh gosh, Haley what is it?" Brooke says from behind me, even though I knew she had been reading over my shoulder the whole time.

"He doesn't want kids, and stupid me could be pregnant right now" I say, sobbing.

"Where does it say that because I don't see it." Brooke says, snatching the letter from my hands.

"He said 'I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together, just you and me'." I retort back angrily.

"I don't see anything wrong with that, it's sweet!" Peyton says "I wish Lucas would say that to me!" Both Brooke and Peyton smile at the thought of their boyfriends.

"JUST YOU AND ME! He doesn't want kids." I yell as both of the girls, knocking them from their daydream.

"Haley, you don't know that that's what that means. He just wants to be with you forever." Peyton says trying to knock some sense into me, but failing.

"What am I supposed to do? If I am pregnant I can't tell him in a letter. That means I'll have to wait 11 more weeks to tell him." I say, pleading with my best friends to give me an answer I know that I won't get from them.

"Why don't you wait? See if you miss your period and then we'll go to the drugstore for you. There's no point to worry about it right now because what's meant to be will happen." Peyton says

"Peyton's right, you know. She may be a blonde, but she's definitely not dumb" Brooke says getting a look from Peyton. "What?" she says innocently, and Peyton and I can only laugh at our goofy friend.

"I love you guys, thank you for tonight. I better go to bed though, got to be fresh for classes in the morning!" I say, hugging each of my friends and taking the letter back with me to my bedroom.

"Night Tutor Girl" Brooke says, and I can feel her smirking behind me. I laugh to myself and close my bedroom door behind me, shutting out the world.

I don't know what to think anymore, but I know I have to wait a week to be certain of my future. There's no need to worry…like Peyton said, what's meant to be will happen. But what if I'm meant to be a girl who's pregnant right now? This can't be happening to me when Nathan is all the way across the country. I grab my Ipod from my nightstand and let the music soothe me to sleep, for now it is a distraction, but in the morning I have to face another day of not knowing.

R & R

Hope you liked this 2nd chapter. I still don't know exactly where this story will end up, but I'll definitely make it a good one. Leave some love, it's my motivation =].


	3. Laughter is the best medicine

Chapter 3

I woke in the morning feeling a little funny, mostly my stomach bothering me. I went to the bathroom and realized I had started my period. Thank god!

"Brooke, Peyton!" I yelled from the bathroom, thrilled to share the news about me not being pregnant.

"Haley, it's a little early don't you think?" Brooke said as she walked towards me; sleep still thick in her voice.

"That's beside the point, I started my period!" I said smiling widely at my two best friends.

"Oh hales that's great!" Peyton said pulling me into a hug. "I had a feeling you were getting worked up over nothing."

"I know, I know. I don't know why I was so worried. Now I better go write Nathan back." I say as I leave the bathroom and walk back to the desk in my room. I grab a piece of stationary and begin writing a reply back to his letter when I hear a loud man's voice out in the living room.

"Hey Luke, I missed you" I hear Peyton coo at her boyfriend.

"Haley, Lucas is here!" Brooke informs me, peeking her head into my room. I finish the letter, address it, lick the envelope, and put a stamp in the corner. I quickly dress and apply a small amount of makeup before grabbing my bag and running out the door, almost forgetting the letter.

"Hey Luke, I'm ready" I say nearing the voices of my 3 best friends.

"It's about time Hales!" Lucas jokingly nudges me. The 4 of us head out of the apartment and to our classes, Brooke and I going one way while Peyton and Lucas go another. The warmness of the morning air reminds me that today is a great day.

"It's a shame, really, I would kill for your grades" Brooke says matter-of-factly. She knows that with me being a perfectionist, I strive to get A's on absolutely everything.

"Brooke, I never said I wasn't happy with an A-, it's just I'd prefer the A without the minus" I say rolling my eyes at her.

"Oh how will you ever go on!" Brooke says, mocking me.

"Ha-ha" I deadpan "so funny Brooke, maybe you should give up fashion to be a comedian?" I retort back, my act sounding more convincing than Brooke's.

"Enough you two, stop the play fighting" Peyton says entering the apartment and setting her bag down by the door "it's not as funny as the two of you think it is" she says smirking. Brooke sticks her tongue out at Peyton, which makes the 3 of us laugh.

"Real mature" Peyton says "So anyway, how was your day Hales?"

"Other than the A-" I begin, receiving a look from Brooke "it was fantastic" I say cheerfully.

"Well good, I was beginning to worry about you." Peyton says, concern evident in her voice.

"Peyt I'm fine, everything appears to be fine." I say reassuring my best friend that there is no need to worry about me.

"Haley, it's just that you were really freaked out with the pregnancy thing so I just wanted to make sure" Peyton always was one that worried more about others than herself.

"I'm fine, really. Nathan will be back in a couple of months and I'm not pregnant. Sounds like a win-win to me!" I say going to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

"If you say so" Peyton says, exiting the room and walking to her own.

1 month later….

It's crazy really, how fast time can go when you miss someone. I know everyone thinks it's the opposite, but it's true. Knowing that Nathan will be home with me in less than a month is what keeps me going every day, that and his letters. It's incredible really, how strong of a bond 2 people can have. Also that that bond can be maintained when the only contact is through letters.

"Morning tutor girl!" Brooke says cheerily as she exits her bedroom, Julian in tow.

"Morning Brooke, Julian" I say from my position in the kitchen, making pancakes for everyone.

"Mmmm Haley, it smells fantastic in here" Lucas says as he and Peyton leave her bedroom.

"Thanks Luke" I say smiling at my friends. You would think I'd be saddened by the sight of my friends and their boyfriends, but I'm not. It's the opposite really, I'm happy that they're as happy as I am.

The 5 of us all grab our fill of pancakes, bacon, juice, and coffee. With the mail arriving in a few moments, I slip on my shoes and walk out the door and down to the mailbox. I greet the mailman and take the mail from him when he hands it to me. I say a quick thank you and flip through the stack as I run back up the stairs to the apartment. Bills, Bills, Bills, ah-ha! The letter I had been waiting patiently for had finally arrived. I entered the apartment, and ran directly to the couch to read my latest letter. I couldn't seem to open the envelope quickly enough, and I fought with it for a few seconds before I finally freed its contents.

_Dear Haley,_

_I miss you so much! I've been really homesick over the last few weeks, but everyone's letters help a ton. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be, physically and mentally. I think about you and everyone daily. I never thought I'd be missing all the little things of daily life, but I do. I miss being able to lie around and be lazy when I don't feel well. I miss being able to eat a leisurely meal where I'm focusing on things besides getting my meal down as fast as I can. I'll tell you more about it when I come home, but for now I'm out of time. I love you and I'll talk to you soon. Always & forever – Nathan._

I smiled to myself, setting the letter down before returning to my place at the table.

"I'm guessing it was a good letter?" Lucas says before his takes a large gulp of coffee.

"Yes" I say simply, but smiling slightly.

"Did he say anything about us?" Brooke says from her seat in between Julian and Peyton.

"He said he missed everyone a lot" I say before continuing to eat my breakfast, lost in my own world.

"Earth to tutor girl!" Brooke says, throwing a piece of bacon in my direction which lands directly on my plate.

"Brooke, if you wanted to get my attention you didn't have to throw food at me" I laugh at my friend.

"Whatever! So are we on for shopping after breakfast?" She says, looking at both Peyton and I. She gets a nod out of Peyton and a 'sure' out of me.

"What, are Luke and I not invited?" Julian says pouting in the direction of his girlfriend.

"Dude, why would you want to go?" Lucas says in confusion

"Sometimes they try on lingerie bro, the perks are usually good" Julian says, smirking.

Brooke smacks him on the arm "That's the last time I let you in the dressing room!" she says sweetly to him.

"Woah, you let him in the dressing room?" Peyton says in total shock, laughing at the expression on Brooke's face.

"Oh shut up P. Sawyer, not like you've never thought about doing it" Brooke retorts back.

"Um, I actually haven't." she replies coolly.

"Why not babe?" Lucas says nudging her, receiving a glare from Peyton.

"Careful Eugene, she's a feisty one" I say from my end of the table

"Haley! You promised you'd never tell!" Lucas says, shocked that I had whipped out his middle name out of my artillery.

"Eugene!!!" both Brooke and Peyton say in between fits of laughter.

"It's not funny you two, I better Julian has a lame middle name too!" Lucas says, pointing a Julian.

"Actually, my middle name is Michael" Julian says matter-of-factly.

"I love my life" Lucas says settling back into his chair, ignoring all the laughter going on in the apartment. Times like these with my friends make me miss Nathan more and more each day.

R & R

I know I know, not a lot of Naley! It's coming soon though, I promise!


	4. Did I really just say that?

Sorry guys! I've been swamped with assignments & finals, but today was my last day so I be updating more regularly. Thank you for your patience & understanding! Enjoy.

I wake up from this long dream, one that seemed like another lifetime, look at the clock, and frown at the fact that it's only 2:30. This means I have about 3.5 more hours until I need to wake up. Instead of fighting sleep, I get up and decide to roam around the apartment. I've downgraded, really, but that's all that can be afforded right now. I live in a small, one-bedroom apartment, with almost no living space. Anyone who was claustrophobic certainly would feel uncomfortable here. I walk near the couch when something catches my eye, something I hadn't seen in years.

I walk over to my small couch, and sitting on it is a box labeled "N&H". This has Brooke written all over it, leaving a painful memory on my couch.

"Crap" I breathe out, knowing that I should have known that this would surface eventually. I glance around the apartment I share with my miniature dachshund, Peanut. He trots over to me, and I swear if dogs could smile, he would be right now. The next thing to catch my eye is a large picture frame that Brooke and Peyton had given to me. There were four pictures in it. The first, at the top left was the picture at Brooke and Julian's wedding, next to it was the picture of their then 4 month old daughter, Mackenzie. She was now 4, I think. Maybe 5, I can't keep track.

The next picture was of Lucas and Peyton at their wedding, and the last was of their daughter, Sawyer, who I know for a fact is 3 because, she share's Nathan's birthday.

"Crap" I say again, a little louder this time. All the memories of 5 years ago come flooding back to me. He decided that the military life wasn't for me, that I deserved someone who could fulfill every dream I had, because he knew I never wanted to leave North Carolina. I wanted that life though; he's the only person I would have left my hometown for. I was scared though because I was so young and the last thing I wanted to think about it future plans like that.

Now I'm 26 though, and I want those future plans. It's crazy really, when I finally want everything, he isn't here to give it to me.

I hear the faint sound of my phone ringing and wonder who the hell would want to call me in the middle of the night. I roughly grab for my phone, knocking over an old picture frame as I do so.

"What?!" I say into the phone.

"Nathan..?" the sweetest voice I've ever heard says quietly on the other line.

"H-Haley?" I say, almost dropping the phone in my state of shock.  
"Yes…it's me" she says, barely above a whisper.

"Is everything okay?" I say concerned as to why she called me, we haven't had any contact in years.

"Well, I guess. I just really needed to hear your voice" she says, not knowing that my heart painfully broke in that moment, for the second time in my life.

"Why?" I say, no emotion filling my voice.

"I was just looking in an old box, one I think Brooke left here to mess with me, and suddenly felt the urge to call you. I'm actually surprised that you never changed your number." She says, and I can almost feel her smile on the other line.

"Um, no I kept it. No point in changing it, people from my past wouldn't be able to call me in the middle of the night" I say, teasing the love of my life.

"Oh gosh…I forgot what time it was!! I'm sorry Nathan, I didn't mean to. I can just go…" she says rambling.

"Hales, you're rambling. And it's fine, really. We haven't spoken in a long time." I say, trying my best to soothe her.

"Alright. So um, would you want to catch up sometime soon, if you can?" She says and I can almost feel the hope in her voice.

"Uh, yeah. That sounds great actually" I say, again showing no emotion, thought I'm mentally jumping up and down.

"soon?" she says

"yes, soon. I'm actually in North Carolina right now so maybe even tomorrow?" I say thinking that the sooner I see her, the better.

"you're here, really? But I thought…" She says in a confused voice.

"I was honorably discharged a year ago. It's a long story, one that I'll have to explain when we meet up." I say, feeling slightly less enthusiastic knowing that I have to explain what happened to another person.

"Oh Nate, I'm so sorry, I know this was your dream." She says soothingly over the phone, and I know that if she were here right now, it would take all my strength to not kiss her, let alone not pin her against the wall. I can almost feel her warm breath near my lips and it's almost enough to explode. I make a mental note that I'll need to take care of myself when this conversation is over, if I can even wait that long. Just the sound of her voice causes me to begin stroking myself through my basketball shorts….

"Nathan?" she says after waiting several minutes for me to answer her. I clear my throat, and laugh to myself thinking that maybe masturbating while on the phone maybe isn't such a good idea…only when the person on the other line knows what you're doing.

"It's really ok Haley; I've found something else to do with my life." I say, knowing that it's true.

"Alright, well I feel bad for waking you up, but I better get going. I have to get up early in the morning." She says, and I can sense her fidgeting.

"It's ok Hales, but yeah I should be going too. It was great catching up; let's do more of it over dinner tomorrow ok?" I say, praying that she'll accept my invitation.

"Sounds excellent, Goodnight Nathan. I love you-"click. Shit, did she really just say that?

Shit, did I really just say that? How am I supposed to face him tomorrow without having a permanent blush on my face?

I slowly place the items and lid back on the box. I grab it up and carry it back to bed with me, setting it down on my nightstand. I sigh loudly, completely mortified at what I had just said to my ex. Did I mean it, or was I just saying it out of habit? Who really knows, but I guess I'll find out if I'm still in love with my ex when I see him tomorrow. I can't be after all these years, can i?

NEXT: Naley re-unite (at last)!

This chapter may be short, but it was needed as set up for the changes that I'm making in this story. Hope you enjoyed it, even though it's really only a teaser! R & R.


	5. Words of Wisdom

Chapter 5

I woke up in the morning with an anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. Knowing that I was going to see Nathan after all these years obviously was not going to help me get through the day. Although I knew for a fact that there would be a pink elephant in the room, and its name was "I love you".

Deciding to not throw a pity party for myself, I slowly got up from my bed. I went out to my small kitchen, started a pot of coffee, and grabbed a bowl for cereal when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in" I said, knowing it would either be Brooke or Peyton.

Brooke walked in with her daughter holding her hand "you know Haley, I could've easily been a man that came here to kill you and you just say 'come in' like you know who it is" she says walking over to me.

"I knew it would be you or Peyton" I said shrugging while continuing to assemble my breakfast.

"Aunt Haley, where's peanut?" Mackenzie says glancing around my apartment.

"Oh sweetie I think he's in his cage" I say, patting my "niece" on the head. Since Brooke has no siblings, she told Peyton and I that we would be the closest things to Aunts little Mackenzie would have. Julian only has step-siblings, and they aren't close at all.

The little girl tugs on her mom's hand and says in excited voice "mommy can I please go play with him?" she adds in a pouty face, which she's learned by now will get her mom to do anything for her.

"Sure baby, be nice to him!" Brooke says as Mackenzie skips into my bedroom.

"So when do I get another niece or nephew to spoil?" I say taking a sip of my coffee. "Do you want any?" I say between sips.

"No thanks." She says waving her hand "Julian and I are trying again already, but we've been so busy lately that it goes to the back burner." Brooke says sighing.

"Well Mackenzie and I would sure love another little Baker to play with" I say in a childish tone.

Brooke laughs at me, "Haley, maybe you should just worry about you having babies one of these days"

Like a knife, her words dig into me. I know she meant nothing by it, but it still hurts. Brooke can see the expression on my face and comes to my side in the blink of an eye.

"Oh Haley, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that-"

"No, I get it. It's hard to think about that when the 'Brooke fairy' leaves presents on my couch" I say sarcastically.

"So you saw it?" she says smiling.

"Brooke! You can't leave things like that around; I end up doing crazy things." I say walking towards the couch, picking up the box so I can sit in its place.

"What did you do?" she says curiously.

"I may have called him.." I say sheepishly.

"He didn't change his number?"

"That's what I said! But that's not the worst part." I say, cringing at the thought of what I had said to him.

"Haley I'm sure you're overreacting, it's not like you'd be stupid enough to say you loved him or anything." Brooke can see it in my eyes that that's exactly what I had done.

"Haley, are you stupid?!" my best friend yells a little louder than I expected.

"Mommy it's not nice to call people stupid!" Mackenzie yells from my bedroom.

"That's exactly right Kenz, I'm telling Aunt Haley I'm sorry right now." Brooke says in her motherly tone.

"Good girl mommy" My adorable niece says with a giggle.

"So Haley, tell me, how could you be so stupid?" Brooke says in a whispered tone.

"Brooke, I didn't do it on purpose. We were saying goodbye and it was like word vomit!" I say trying to defend myself, even though I know it was stupid.

"Anything else interesting in this conversation?" she says relaxing back into my couch.

"We're meeting up for dinner tonight" I say with a slight smile.

"Wait, he's in Tree Hill?" Brooke says, suddenly not so relaxed anymore.

"Mhm, I guess he was discharged a year ago."

"Did he say what happened?" she says, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"No, he said it was a long story. Do you think it's a good idea for me to meet up with him?" I say, wanting an honest opinion from my best friend.

"Haley, for as long as I have known you, you've been in love with Nathan. Why would you ask me that, when you already know the answer?" Brooke says while putting a hand on my shoulder.

"When did you become so wise?" I say laughing at her.

"I think it comes with motherhood. Speaking of, Kenz has a play date that I need to get her to. Call me after your date, if you're not too busy that is" She says winking.

"Brooke!" I yell at her.

"Kidding, kinda." She says "Mackenzie Lynn Baker, time to go!"

"Coming mommy!" the little brunette says running out of my bedroom. "Bye Aunt Haley" she says hugging me tightly.

"I'll call you later Brooke" I say before closing the door after my best friend.

**Happening a few miles away.....**

"Wake up Nate" says the voice.

"Go away, Rachel. I'm too tired" I say throwing an extra pillow at her.

"No! The doctors said if we don't start doing your therapy regularly, that you'll never make a full recovery" says the red head.

"Fine!" I huff in aggravation

"That's more like it" she says with a sly smile

I get out of bed slowly, with Rachel helping me out of bed. She gently helped me into the wheelchair that I had been in for a few months. The only reason I was in it was because I didn't think of myself as someone who needed help, so I refused any aide. I, however, was told that if I didn't start seriously doing my therapy, that I could be in it for the rest of my life. Rachel, my fiancée, was the only reason I had been doing my therapy. (Only because she made me.)

"Nate, I have that business dinner tonight with my co-workers so you'll have to fend for yourself tonight" she says in a bored tone.

"Yeah, I've got it covered" I say, immediately thinking of Haley.

"Oh really? What do you plan to do?" she says, and I can hear that she clearly has no faith in my abilities, even if I did plan on staying in by myself tonight. Then I thought, should I tell her what I'm doing? Of course I should.

"Well, I got a call last night from an old friend and we're going to meet up tonight for dinner" I say, trying to hide the excitement in my voice.

"Really? Have I heard you talk about this mystery person?" Rachel says, looking through her closet for a dress to wear tonight.

"No, I don't think so" trying my best to sound like I really had to think about it.

"Well let me tell you something" she began, and I could tell she was getting angry "If it's a woman, so help me god-"

"Rach, relax. Would I be engaged to you if I wanted someone else?" I say, mentally cursing myself because that's exactly right.

"True" She says, suddenly straddling me "why in the world would you ever want anyone else?"

"I don't know" I say, barely above a whisper, as she begins to kiss my neck, which would have done something for me normally, but with Haley on my mind I felt nothing towards Rachel.

**Later...**

I decided I'd rather text Nathan than call him, after what I had said the day before, I think texting is a bit safer. _Hey, any details for tonight?_

I put my phone down for a second and it vibrates with Nathan's name flashing. I hadn't expected him to reply that quickly. _How about u come over to my appt 7 & we'll go from there?_

I smile to myself, still unable to believe that I'll be seeing Nathan tonight after all these years. I suddenly feel my nerves again. Knowing that if I don't accept now, I'll decline, I quickly reply. _Sounds great. Which appts?_

I pictured him living in a place similar to mine. We had never been flashy people, so I wouldn't think of him living in a fancy place. Thinking about the apartments in the area, I predicted that he would either say he lived in the Tree Hill Commons or the Southside Regal Apartments. _I live in a newer complex called Tree Hill Elite, 4A._

Wow, I had heard about those apartments and they were not what I expected. I guess his taste had changed after he had been discharged. _I'll be there 7. _I sit the phone back down and quickly take a shower and try to find something to wear.

I decided on a barely knee-length, red dress that would highlight my honey colored hair. I put it up in a simple updo, not wanting to look as though I had tried too hard. I apply a simple amount of make-up as well. I put on a pair of black pumps, grab my purse, take a last glance in the mirror, and head out the door.

R&R

_**NEXT UP: **_The dinner!


	6. Sex, Lies, and Business Meetings

Chapter 6

I pulled into the parking lot of Nathan's apartment complex which was literally only about a 20 minute drive from mine. How bizarre that we had lived to close, yet in two completely different worlds. I looked at the clock before turning off my car; it read "6:55". Not wanting to look too eager, I looked in the mirror again and wasted a few minutes before exiting my car.

As soon as my nerves had calmed down a bit, I walked up the path and towards the stairs to look for apartment 4A. It was on the right side, but that's not all I had noticed. There was a lime green welcome mat that looked too girly for Nathan's taste, alongside a pot of flowers. "If this day just can't get any more bizarre.." I thought to myself before knocking on the red door.

From inside, I heard a muffled "coming" so I backed away a couple steps. As soon as the door opened I had to look down at Nathan for the first time in my life, he'd always towered over me in height. Instinctively, my hand flew to my mouth in shock before he spoke.

"What, don't like my wheels?" he joked.

"No..i uh-" stuttered, suddenly wondering what the hell was going on and if Ashton Kutcher was going to pop out at me any second.

"Relax Hales, I'm alright. I just didn't want to do my physical therapy for a while so my doctor had no choice but to make me use this thing." Nathan said pointing at his 'wheels'.

"What happened?" I said as he motioned for me to come inside. His apartment was beautifully decorated, either he was living with a woman or he had a decorator fix up his place, and I was hoping it was the latter.

Nathan explained to me that he was working with new recruits and he had tried to show off during an obstacle course of sorts and he had majorly hurt himself in the process.

"And silly me, I thought you might eventually grow out of wanting to be better than anyone else" I say grinning at him.

"That'll never happen, I'm a Scott." He says playfully.

"So, ready to go to dinner?" I say, the rumbling in my stomach reminding me why I had come here in the first place. "Do I need to drive…or what?" I say, cautiously trying not to offend him at all.

"No that seems to be one thing I can do. Like I said, it's really not that serious, I just didn't cooperate with my therapy until recently." He says wheeling towards the door.

After carefully getting down to Nathan's car, they drove away to a cozy little bistro downtown. The car ride consisted of friendly chatter, nothing too heavy of course. Once they had finally reached their destination, the pair made their way into the restaurant. They were seated near the back of the restaurant, secluded from the rest of the world.

"So what are you doing these days?" Nathan said, taking a sip of his water.

"Well I teach at Tree Hill High School actually, English." I inform him, smiling widely at all the memories that we made there with our friends.

"Wow, this is such a small world" he says with pure shock all over his face.

"What do you mean?" I ask him, confused by his expression.

"I actually just got a job there as head basketball coach. You obviously know Whitey just retired, and he wanted me to fill his position." He says smiling that beautiful smile.

"Wow, so I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other with this coming school year" I say, thrilled at the fact that I might possibly be seeing him every day now once the summer was over.

The dinner banter was kept light, nothing too personal, until the drinks started being poured into them. Haley had several cocktails that were causing her to start slurring her words, and Nathan himself has a few drinks that were starting to have the same affect on him.

"So you wanna get outta here?" Nathan slurs at me.

"Please" I slur back at him, and before I know it we're in a cab on the way back to Nathan's apartment, he informed me that he'd get his car later. When we entered the door, Nathan grabbed a bottle of wine and we wasted no time starting in on it. He pointed out where I could find two wineglasses and I slowly walked back to him. By the time we had finished half the bottle, we were getting even closer.

"Haleyyyy, you so pretty" he says while leaning closer to me and pecking me on the cheek. I can't help but giggle at his silliness, although it's only funny because of all the alcohol.

"Natey, kiss me" I say looking while looking into his blue eyes, which started changing into a shade darker before he leaned closer to me and kissed me passionately. I suddenly started feeling very hot, which in my drunken state I had no idea why I was burning up.

"Gosh, I am so hot…" I slur, fanning myself for a minute.

A suddenly sobered Nathan whispers "I have an idea" as he reaches for the zipper to my dress.

"Nate you are soooo smart!" I say simply before completely removing my dress. Mere minutes passed before Nathan picked me up with my legs wrapped around his as we slowly made our way into the bedroom, not wanting to hurt his legs any further.

He kissed me slowly at first, but our passion quickly began to heat up as he found that spot on my neck that he knew I couldn't resist. I tugged at his shirt, wanting to feel his skin on mine. Once his shirt and shorts were discarded, things only began to escalate from there. He kissed every inch of my skin before he finally entered me. The feeling of him inside me after all these years was almost unbearable. I began to moan uncontrollably under him as he pounded into me, all of our old memories flooding back as he did so. We both finally came for each other before we drifted off into a peaceful, drunken slumber.

**Happening just across town….**

The tall red-head screamed from under the larger man as a wave of pleasure washed over her. Her 'business meeting' seemed to be going pretty well, and it was far from over.

"Oh god that was amazing.." she muttered before snuggling up to the side of him, her engagement ring shining in the moonlight that crept in through the hotel window.

"Babe, what did I say about wearing that thing when we're hooking up?" the brunette male says frustrated with her.

"Sorry, you know if I don't keep it on that I'll lose it. Plus then Nathan could find out, and that would just ruin our fun right?" she says seductively climbing on top of him.

"Damn Rach, you sure do make it hard for me to say no to you…" he mutters from under her.

"I can certainly feel how hard it is" she says playfully.

"But in all seriousness-" he begins before Rachel cuts him off

"You know how much I hate being serious when I'm naked" she says rolling off of him, giving up of their 2nd round for now.

"When are we going to actually be together? You know how much I love you, and it kills me that you're engaged to another man." He says looking into her hazel eyes.

"Look, you knew this from the beginning. I need Nathan for the money, okay? If we get married then we'll blackmail him into giving us what we want. Until then, why can't we just enjoy what we can have?"

"But I can't even have you so that makes no sense." He says frustrated with the entire situation.

"For God's sakes Damien, I have 'business meetings' a couple times a week yet he questions nothing, what more can you ask of me before he gets suspicious?" she cries at him

"I guess you're right, why test the waters when the boat is moving perfectly fine?" he says to soothe her.

"You know I hate when you say things like that, but I do love you" she says before climbing on top of him again and continuing this 'business meeting' until the next morning.

**Nathan's Apartment…**

Nathan woke up and felt a killer headache as soon as he opened his eyes. He glanced over at his alarm clock and it read _8:45_. He stretched before getting himself into his wheelchair, suddenly realizing that he didn't remember anything from the night before. Right before he was about to wheel out of the room, he turned to the form on his bed. Haley James. What the hell was going on?

He heard her stir in bed and sit up too quickly.  
"ohhh.." he heard her moan while she placed a hand over her eyes. Both smiled slightly at each other before dressing. Nathan wheeled himself into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee before Haley entered in her red dress.

"Well, this is a bit embarrassing." She states before sitting at a stool by the bar.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure what happened last night to be honest…" I say before placing a cup of coffee in front of her.

"Thanks" she says quietly.

"You don't think that we um, you know, do you?" I ask her, concerned with the fact that I may have cheated on my fiancée with my ex-girlfriend.

"I was naked, but who knows. I can't remember a thing from last night once we cracked open that bottle of wine." She says smiling tightly at me, yet somehow I don't believe her.

"You'd certainly remember though wouldn't you?" I say playfully at her

"Oh shut up Nate, but you're right. I better be going though…" she says all in one breath.

"Right…of course." I say simply before showing her out.

"I had a great time, I think" she says, her brown eyes shining in the early morning sun.

"Me too, I think." I repeat before receiving a kiss on the cheek from her "don't be stranger, okay?"

"Not this time" she says before walking down the stairs.

As Haley descends the staircase, she passes a tall and gorgeous redhead. She smiles at her in a friendly way, and the redhead does the same. They both appeared as though they had both had a long night, and Haley was sure that the first thing that both of them would do was go to their respective apartments and take a relaxing shower.

Haley retrieved her cell phone out of her bag only to see that she had 3 missed calls; all from Brooke. Wow, she was going to have a field day with this one!

"Hi Brooke, yeah it's me" I say into the phone as I drive away from Nathan's apartment complex.

"So how did it go? I'm assuming it went FANTASTIC since you're calling me the morning after" Brooke says excitedly into the phone.

"Well Brooke, we don't really remember what happened last night. Plus I have a killer hangover so could you maybe not scream in my ear?" I tell my best friend, trying my best not to sound as bad as I felt.

"If there was alcohol involved then you guys definitely had sex!" Brooke says in another excited tone.

"Geeze, Brooke what did I just say about the tone? Besides, don't you think I'd remember having sex last night?" I say frustrated with my own fuzzy memory.

"Maybe your memory will come back to you Hales, until then why worry about it?" she says becoming serious, in a tone I could appreciate.

"I guess you're right, give Kenz a hug for me. Tell her to stay away from alcohol and boys!" I laugh into the phone.

"Gee thanks for the advice on raising my 4 year old!" Brooke replies sarcastically before hanging up.

**Back at Nathan's Apartment….**

"Hey baby" Rachel says as she enters the apartment "how was your friend last night?"

"Oh, great. How about that meeting?" he said not taking his eyes off of the T.V

"Great actually, we didn't end up wrapping things up until really late so I just decided to go back to the office and get some things done." She says with a smile.

"That's my girl" he says briefly looking at her before turning his attention back to the T.V.

"Natey kiss me" Rachel whines at him because he seems more interested in the T.V than in her.

Nathan suddenly feels as though he had just had déjà vu. With her words, he realized that Haley had said those exact words to him last night, only with a slur. As the events from the night before slowly came back to him he was snapped back into reality by his fiancée.

"Hello, hot girl wanting a kiss?" she says while waving a hand in front of his face. Nathan gave her a quick peck on the lips before getting himself in his wheelchair and announcing that he was going to take a shower.

_What the hell am I going to do_? He thought to himself as he went towards the direction of their bathroom.

**Haley's Apartment**

After only being home for a few hours, Brooke dropped Mackenzie off at Haley's. She explained that she and Julian were going to try and make a baby today, which only made Haley laugh at her friends.

"What do you want to do today girly?" Haley says picking up the little girl.

"uhm.." Mackenzie says thinking and putting a little finger on her chin.

"How about we go to the mall?" she says, knowing that her niece is exactly like her mom and she can't resist a shopping trip.

"YES!" the little girl yells excitedly.

Haley can't help but laugh at her enthusiasm. "Let me just go get ready okay?"

"Sure Aunt Haley" she replies before going and turning on the T.V.

Haley changes out of her lounging clothes into a pair of jean shorts and a green, formfitting t-shirt. She throws her hair up into a cute ponytail, applies a bit of mascara, slips on a pair of flip-flops and heads out into her living room to get her niece.

"Well, how do I look?" she says, spinning for her niece.

"Aunt Haley you're so pretty!" the little girl says laughing.

_Where have I heard that before_? Haley thinks before they head out the door. Once they reach the car all of the memories from the previous night come back to her. She has to pause for a moment before her little niece pulls her back into reality.

"You okay Aunt Haley?" Mackenzie says as her aunt places her in her booster seat, it amazed Haley how grown up this little bundle of joy acted sometimes.

"Yeah sweetie, I just have a lot on my mind right now" she says smiling at the little girl.

Haley drove towards the direction of the mall, passing Nathan's apartment complex as she did. The thought of sleeping with Nathan after only seeing him once after all these years haunted her. She felt ashamed that she let her body do things that her brain would have not wanted if she hadn't been so drunk.

After thinking things over, she decided that she wouldn't bring things up unless Nathan remembered what happened. Why bring it up if he didn't remember? She only wondered how long she could keep it up for before Nathan would remember their activities from the night before….

If only she knew.

Read & Review!

Hope that provided some shock value for you =]


	7. Honesty

Chapter 7

A month had passed since the 'incident', that's what I refer to it as anyway. It was now finally August and the school year was about to start. My excitement was beyond evident, after all, I spent all those years as a student and now I was finally going to be a teacher. The only thing that concerned me was that if Nathan and I spent more time together, would he eventually remember what happened between us? I had hoped not.

Brooke and Julian had been trying to conceive another child for this entire month, leaving me in charge of watching Mackenzie frequently. This also got Lucas and Peyton in the baby making mood, so naturally I began watching Sawyer more often as well. What am I, a babysitter now too?

It was the week before school started, a typical Thursday afternoon with my two favorite little girls when my cell phone rang.

"Hello?" I said into the phone, I hadn't even bothered to look at the ID before I answered.

"Hales, it's me." said the voice that belonged to my best friend Lucas Scott.

"Well if it isn't my favorite Scott brother, to what to I owe this pleasure?" I replied sarcastically. I hadn't spoken to him very much lately. One because he was working on another book, and two because he was busy making another baby with Peyton.

"Very funny" he deadpanned. "So Peyt and I have some news and we'd like to get everyone together for dinner tonight, you available?" Lucas asked in a hopeful tone.

"Who me? Well I was planning on taking a bubble bath, and reading a good book, but I guess dinner with my friend's sounds like more fun" I said with a laugh.

"I hope I'm not pushing my luck by asking you for another favor, but would you mind bringing the girls with you? Peyton and Brooke said they packed outfits for the girls in one of the bags."

"Wait, you guys planned this long before I knew! That's so unfair, and I don't think you're my favorite Scott brother anymore" I said, faking hurt.

"Aww Hales I'm sorry, I just do what I'm told. Peyton cracks a mean whip…"

"Uh gross Luke, I don't wanna know what goes on in the bedroom" I say making fake gagging noises.

"Haley Elizabeth James, you are such a pervert. Be at our favorite restaurant at 6 with the girls okay?" Lucas says before hanging up on me.

I walk back to the living room and see Sawyer and Mackenzie playing with each other so well that I can't help but smile.

"Why are you smiling Aunt Haley?" Mackenzie says from her position on the floor.

"I'm just watching you two play, but it's time we all start getting ready to go out to dinner okay girls?" Mackenzie and Sawyer both nod and smile at me. I decide its best that I get the girls ready first, that way they can play while I get ready. Grabbing the bag that Brooke had brought when she dropped off the girls, I finally found the outfits for them. Mackenzie had her lavender sundress that was detailed with white lace. I ran a brush through her hair, put it half up, and put a lavender ribbon in her dark locks. She looked exactly like her mother, a mini version of course. For Sawyer, Peyton had packed a light blue sundress. It was unreal how much it matched the color of her eyes, which she inherited from her dad. This make me think of Nathan, because he too had those eyes.

I let Sawyers unruly blonde curls do what they wanted because there was no way I could tame them. They looked just like her moms. It made me wonder if one day and I had kids, would they look like me? These two little girls were the spitting images of their mothers and I knew that deep down, I wanted that someday.

As Sawyer and Mackenzie ran out of the room giggling, I began to get ready. I decided on a simple black dress. It had a band that fell just below my chest, and the rest of the dress was a teal color. I settled on a pair of black pumps, the exact pair that I had chosen when I went out with Nathan. I let my hair down, the soft curls cascading below my shoulders. Then I applied a bit of makeup and was on my way out to the living room in a flash.

"Girls, time to go!" I said as I grabbed my purse.

Mackenzie and Sawyer were right behind me, eager to go see their parents when there was a knock at the door. I opened it and was surprised to find the other Scott brother was on the other side.

"Hey Haley, is this a bad time?" he said nervously. I wondered what he wanted, he came to my apartment unannounced…not that I was complaining, but I never got the chance to ask because Sawyer was so excited to see him.

"Unka Nate!" said Sawyer from behind me, wasting no time in running into the arms of her handsome uncle Nathan.

"Where are your wheels?" I said looking to his side

"Oh I've been working extra hard this past month, so I'm done with that. Now all I have to do is keep up with the physical therapy and I'll be close to being good as new! " he said while hugging his niece.

"That's great Nathan. We were just on our way to meet the gang for dinner, you're welcome to join us if you'd like?" I said smiling politely, and taking Mackenzie by the hand.

"Sure, I'll drive!" he said enthusiastically. We stopped by my car to grab the girls' car seats and then put them in his car. I put Mackenzie in hers, while Nathan put Sawyer in hers. I couldn't help but get this funny feeling that this was exactly how it should be. I brushed the feeling aside and got in the car, ready to be at the restaurant and forget about those thoughts.

We arrived just as everyone else was and everyone was excited that Nathan had decided to join us.

"It's so good to see you again Nathan, it's been way too long!" Brooke exclaimed from across the table, Mackenzie sitting in between her and Julian. On the opposite side of the table, Sawyer sat in between her parents so that she and Mackenzie were across from each other. Nathan and I were each at the head of the table.

"Yeah man, its great having you around" said Lucas, putting a hand on Nathan's shoulder

"Thanks guys, it sure brings back memories. Minus the kids though, since when were we old enough to start having kids?" Nathan said with a laugh as he sipped his beer.

"Nate, we're 26, last time I checked that was exactly the time to start having kids!" Peyton says patting her little girl on the head.

"Speaking of, Brooke and I have some news" Julian says with a smile

"We're pregnant!" Brooke says excitedly.

"Gee, Brooke, all that hard work finally paid off!" I said in excitement

"Oh I know, it was such hard work after all" Brooke said with a wink to her husband.

"We actually have some news too, but now it's not going to sound like such a surprise." Lucas began.

"We're pregnant too!" said Peyton with a laugh.

"I think I need to go get some air" I say as I excuse myself from the table, and head for the door.

No one really noticed her absence. The excited couples were busy talking about how excited they were, their due dates, and possible names they had in mind. Nathan noticed, though. He quickly followed her out of the restaurant and found her sitting outside on a bench.

"You okay?" he said as he sat down next to her.

"Yeah. I just never thought I'd be the single one right now. I thought by the time I was 26 I'd be married and have at least a couple kids. Instead, I'm the single babysitter while my friends are getting married and having kids." I say, breathing out a breath I didn't realize that I had been holding.

"I know what you mean Hales, its okay though. We're only young once, why not enjoy it?" Nathan said, his blue eyes shining in the night light.

"You're probably right. I tend to overreact sometimes, but I think it's happening more often with age." I laugh at him, suddenly feeling like I'm 46 and not 26.

"We should go back inside before they wonder what happened to us" He said, getting up from the bench and extending a hand for her.

"You're so smart Nate, I wonder why that it?" I reply sweetly at him.

"I think I may have had this amazing tutor when I was in high school" he replied lamely. The two laughed as they returned to their places at the large table that would need a few extra places in the future.

From outside the restaurant, a tall redhead had seen this interaction from across the street as she exited her favorite coffee shop. Plotting her next move, she crossed the street and decided she'd go greet her fiancée, reminding the other woman that he was hers in the process. Rachel entered the restaurant in a deep purple sundress, her tanned skin made her hazel eyes glow. As her heels clicked across the old wood floor, she plastered a smile on her face as she approached the table.

"Baby, you didn't tell me you were going out with your family tonight!" she said in an excited tone. She had seen pictures of all these people in an old scrapbook that he kept, and he had explained who they all were…except the woman who clearly had a thing for her man. _Crap_ he thought. How was he going to explain his way out of this one, especially the fiancée part? He stood to greet her and she kissed him a little longer than she should have in public. Had he been paying attention, he would have seen the pained look on Haley's face.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" she said looking at him with a tight smile

"Oh uh yeah, Rachel this is Brooke, Julian, their daughter Mackenzie, Lucas, my sister-in-law Peyton, my niece Sawyer, and Haley." He said, pointing as he introduced everyone.

"Hi, I'm Rachel, Nathan's fiancée." She said as if he enjoyed the title more than what it actually meant.

By this point, not only had Haley's face sank, but her heart had sunk as well. Fiancée? This couldn't be happening, not when things had been going so well.

"Nate, you never told us you were engaged!" Brooke says in shock

"It must have just slipped my mind…" he said, not really knowing what else would be an appropriate excuse.

"Well it was nice meeting you all, but I better get going. I was in need of some coffee but I better head back to the office now. Don't wait up tonight babe" she said as she pecked him on the lips and exited the restaurant.

Haley realized that she had already met Rachel. She had passed her on the way out of Nathan's apartment after they had…._slept together. _Crap! This was not going to be pretty.

**Later on in the evening......**

After dinner, each family went to their homes. Nathan had offered to take Haley back to her apartment. They took the car seats out of his car and placed them back in hers. Not really knowing what so say next, she invited him inside.

"I can make a pot of coffee if you'd like?" I said entering my small kitchen.

"What, no wine?" he said laughing

"I think I'm going to stay away from wine for awhile" I replied sarcastically at him

"And why's that?" he said as he turned the T.V on

"Oh, no reason…" I lied

"Whatever you say Hales" he said, sounding…disappointed? I couldn't really put my finger on it.

"So, coffee?"

"Sure, sounds great" he said with a smile.

After it was done brewing, I grabbed a couple of coffee mugs and brought them to the couch where Nathan was sitting.

"Thanks" he said as I handed him one of the mugs

"So uh, why didn't you tell me you were engaged?" I said all in one breath. I hadn't realized how nervous I was to ask that question, even more so to hear the answer.

"Oh...that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I just didn't really know how to go about telling you." He said leaving me unsatisfied with his answer.

"Why?" I said looking him in the eye.

"Don't get me wrong, I love Rachel, but it's different"

"Different from what?" I said before taking a sip of coffee.

"You" he said simply, with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Me?" I said in shock

"Haley, you were it for me. How am I supposed to explain Rachel to you when she doesn't even compare to you?" he said, suddenly sounding angry.

"Nathan…" I began

"No. Look, I'm sorry. Can we just forget about it, please?" he said, barely even able to look at me. A few minutes had passed before I got the courage to ask another question.

"Why are you engaged to her then?" I said, hoping that I wouldn't offend him

"Honestly? I don't know. Maybe because she stayed with me through all of my injuries, it's more than I can say for you." Nathan sounded heartbroken and responded barely above a whisper.

"Nathan, I'm sorry ok? I loved you more than anything and I wanted to stay with you, but YOU were the one that pushed me away!" I said getting up from the couch, furious and unable to look at him.

"I wanted you to fight for me ok? I wanted you to tell me that I was crazy and that I should stay with you. Instead, you just walked away and never looked back. Don't blame this on me Haley." he responded in a angry, yet sad tone from his place on the couch.

"So you were testing me?" I began, earning a nod in response from Nathan. "How dare you! I thought you didn't want me anymore! I didn't want to sound desperate or like I needed you in my life to survive!" I cried at him and he finally stood up, him towering over me once again.

"Well the truth is Haley, I needed you in my life to survive." He said in voice that made me want to cry, but I never had the chance. Nathan pulled me to him and he kissed me softly at first.

"You shouldn't have done that Nathan…." I began

"I wanted to" he said, his gaze in my direction burning through me.

"Yeah…" I replied simply before I lunged towards him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and I kissed him before I had time to think about what I was doing. Just when we were started to get into it, there was a knock at the door and the person entered before Nathan and I could get out of our embrace. _This won't look good…_I thought before I locked eyes with the person that entered my apartment.

**Well, thoughts anyone? Who will be the mystery person at the door? Who do you want it to be?**

**Things are starting to heat up between Nathan and Haley, and I promise you won't be disappointed with the next few chapters I have planned!**

**Please review! They inspire to me to write, and update sooner!**

**p.s. how CRAZY was the season finale? So many great things, and sad things.**


	8. What is wrong with me?

Chapter 8

_"Well the truth is Haley, I needed you in my life to survive." He said in voice that made me want to cry, but I never had the chance. Nathan pulled me to him and he kissed me softly at first._

_"You shouldn't have done that Nathan…." I began_

_"I wanted to" he said, his gaze in my direction burning through me._

_"Yeah…" I replied simply before I lunged towards him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and I kissed him before I had time to think about what I was doing. Just when we were started to get into it, there was a knock at the door and the person entered before Nathan and I could get out of our embrace. __This won't look good…__I thought before I locked eyes with the person that entered my apartment._

"Uh hi Luke, what are you doing here?" I said nervously stepping out of Nathan's arms.

"I think I could say the same about him" Lucas replied as he crossed his arms.

"This isn't what it looks like…" I stuttered.

"Really Haley? Then what does it look like?" Lucas bit out angrily at me.

"Lucas calm down, this is nothing to get upset over" Nathan said trying to reason with his slightly older brother.

"Nathan, I'd stop talking before you make yourself look like even more of a jackass."

"Excuse me? What the hell is wrong with you?" Nathan said getting closer to Lucas.

"Oh I'm sorry, or did you forget that you have a fiancée? Last time I checked her name was Rachel, not Haley." Lucas said, clearly not backing down.

"Lucas, enough. This didn't mean anything, it was stupid and it'll never happen again" I said eager to get Lucas out the door so Nathan and I could discuss what just happened between us.

With a look of hurt and anger in his eyes, Nathan looked defeated. Only Lucas could see this because Haley was slightly behind Nathan. Her words were like a sharp slap in the face, but he refused to let her see how much her words had affected him.

"You know what? Haley's right. I'm going to go home now to be with my fiancée" Nathan said with a small smile, which was only there to make it appear that he wasn't crushed.

Haley had no time to protest before he was already out the door.

"Thanks a lot Lucas, why did you come over here to begin with?" I said glaring at him.

"Um, Sawyer left her giraffe and she can't sleep without it." He said as he picked up the stuffed animal from under the couch. Its little head was poking out from the back of the couch and I hadn't even noticed it was there.

"I never meant for this to happen." I said in a tone that barely above a whisper.

"Haley, what were you thinking? He's engaged. What you guys had ended a long time ago, maybe you should leave it in the past?" Lucas replied

"You're right. I don't know what came over me." I said trying to think of a way to get out of this mess.

"I think I know what did" he said smiling as we both sat on the couch.

"Oh and what's that?" I said looking at my best friend.

"You've always wanted to be a Scott and I'm already taken" Lucas said with a goofy grin.

"Yeah that's it. You're such a dork. And that's totally not true!" I said playfully punching him on the shoulder.

"Look Hales, we all know you still love him. It's painfully obvious when you look at him. All I'm saying is that maybe there's a way you guys can be friends while not ruining his relationship." He said putting an arm around me.

"Wait, you would rather Rachel be your sister-in-law than me? I'm hurt Luke." I said dramatically before smiling at him.

"No, of course not. If it were up to me you would be my sister-in-law already, but right now he loves Rachel so we have to be supportive." He said trying to comfort me.

"Fine. I'll make sure nothing ever happens again" I said in defeat.

"That's good Hales. If it doesn't work out with Rachel, I'm sure he'd want to be with-" he began.

"Don't even say it Luke!" I said with a laugh.

"Alright. I better get this thing home to my girl" Lucas said shaking the little giraffe.

"Thanks Lucas, for tonight. Kiss Miss Sawyer Brooke Scott for me" I said walking him to the door.

"You take such good care of my baby. It's the least I can do." He said with a smile before he left my apartment.

I didn't really want to admit that maybe Lucas was right. It's a hard thing to hear from someone you trust. Especially considering that tonight when Nathan and I kissed and talked about the past, I had never been happier.

**Nathan's Apartment**

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Nathan had intended to sort out what had happened between Haley and him, but with Lucas' interruption it was no longer possible. He was home for about an hour before he got a call from Rachel telling him that she'd be home late tonight, and not to wait up.

He padded around their apartment and couldn't help but think of Haley, his Haley. Why had everything become so confusing? Why did he have to be a stubborn jackass and try to test Haley all those years ago? It's not a simple answer, and that was the problem. He sighed to himself before he decided that he was with Rachel now, and he should try to salvage their relationship because he owed her that.

Maybe tonight was just a sign of weakness, but now that he had told her the truth he could simply move on. If only it were that easy…Nathan was shaken from his thoughts when there was a knock at the door. Who could be here this late?

Just to make sure it wasn't some creep, he checked the peephole before opening the door.

_Haley._

What was she doing here? His breath caught in his throat the minute he saw her. Without thinking about why she would be here this late, he opened the door.

"Haley, what are you doing here?" I said, trying to show no emotion in my voice.

"Well, Luke kind of interrupted an important conversation and I couldn't sleep before we finished it." Haley said with a nervous smile.

"Yeah, about that. He's right, I'm engaged and I need to be the good guy here. I'm sorry Haley, I don't know what came over me but I promise it'll never happen again." I said while secretly hoping that Haley called my bluff.

"That's what I was hoping that you'd say. Friends?" Haley said looking up at me with her brown eyes.

"Friends." I replied with a grin

"Okay great. Night Nate!" She said as she walked out of my door.

**First Day of School**

Haley walked the halls of Tree Hill High School feeling as though it was just yesterday that she and Brooke Davis were gossiping by their lockers, while Peyton and Lucas were making out by the tutor center. She smiled to herself as she walked into her classroom. Lucky for her, she had managed to score a room near the teacher's lounge. As she walked into her classroom, a sudden wave of nerves flooded her entire body and she ran to the teacher's lounge bathroom afraid she was going to spill her breakfast.

Haley James was probably the most nervous person ever. She could barely keep anything down when she was nervous; especially for fear that it might come up. This had happened on many first days of school, but she had hoped that she'd get over it now that she had her own classroom. She straightened her clothes and looked at herself in the small mirror. She looked, and felt, like crap. Deciding that she'd better make herself a little more presentable, she dug through her purse for some mascara, and then applied it. She then applied some blush so she no longer looked flushed. Satisfied, she left the bathroom and attempted to head back to her classroom. Before she could do so, her eyes landed on Nathan Scott.

"Fancy meeting you here" I said with a smile.

"Well hello there Miss James" he replied.

I laughed hearing my title "Hi Nathan" I said.

"Here it's Coach Scott" he said with a smirk.

"Oh right, forgive me!" I said in mock horror.

"You look good Hales" he said in a genuine voice.

"Seriously, 'cause I just threw up" I say with sarcasm.

"Are you okay?" he said sounding concerned.

"Yeah, it's just nerves." I said taking a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"Whatever you say, Miss James. Take it easy today okay? If you need anything, you know where Whitey's office is." Nathan said before walking out the door.

"You mean your office, Coach Scott?" I replied with a smile.

"Yeah" he said with a genuinely happy smile.

I could get used to seeing that smile forever. _Stop it Haley, he's engaged_ said the Angel on my shoulder.

At that, I headed to my classroom.

**Later in the day**

Peyton, Sawyer, Brooke, and Mackenzie were all at the park when they got a surprise visit from Haley.

"Hi Tutorgirl, how was your first day as Teachergirl?" Brooke said cheerfully.

I couldn't help but laugh at her silliness "It was alright Brooke, aside from feeling sick all day."

"Was it nerves?" Peyton joined in

"Yeah I think so. That or maybe a 24 hour bug." I said as I watched my nieces play together.

"I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon, you could join me if you'd like?" Brooke said sincerely, her green eyes sparkling. She was absolutely glowing, pregnancy suited her.

"If I'm not feeling better, I'll join you" I said with a smile.

"You'd better; you've got to keep those horny teenagers in line!" Brooke said with a wink

"Wow, if it isn't the pot calling the kettle black!" Peyton said in-between laughs

"Oh shut up, I wasn't that bad" Brooke retorted

"I don't think either of you can talk, so let's end it there" I said butting in while receiving glares from my best friends.

"Did you see my brother-in-law today?" Peyton said to change the subject.

"I did, he seemed really excited to be taking over for Whitey" I said thinking back to our earlier interaction.

"It seems so unreal that you guys are teaching back where we went to school!" Brooke said laughing.

"It's also unreal that you're both pregnant! What is it, like a couple weeks apart?" I said curiously.

"Yeah something like that, but it's not our fault that we're apparently extremely fertile" Peyton said putting a hand over her small belly.

"Geeze, I think I'm drowning in all these hormones. I'll catch you guys later" I said with a smile as I made my way back to my car.

**The Next Day**

I decided to call Brooke to let her know that I wanted to go to the doctor with her. I spent my night running back and forth between my bedroom and the bathroom. This was one nasty flu so eventually I fell asleep on my bathroom floor. The cool tile, however, seemed to sooth my warm temperature.

"Hey, Brooke, it's me. I spent the night getting sick so I think I'll go to the doctor with you if you don't mind."

"Sure Haley, how about I pick you up at the school when it lets out and then we'll go get your car after the appointment?"

"That sounds great. I'll see you later!" I said as I ended the call, and running to the bathroom again.

I took a cool shower, hoping that it might make me feel better. Then, I went to my kitchen and decided that a heavy breakfast was out of the question. I grabbed a box of saltine crackers out of my cabinet and a bottle of sprite out of my fridge. I snacked on the crackers and took a couple swigs of the fizzy liquid and it made me feel slightly better. Whoever had given me this bug was sure a pain in my neck right now.

After an hour, I felt better and was completely ready for another day at school. I decided on a pair of black pants, heels, and a white blouse. At 26 I was starting to get used to wearing dress clothes all the time, which made me have more confidence when I stood in front of my classroom of high school students. Taking a minute to look in my full-length mirror, I decided that all I needed was a make-up and I was done. I paid extra attention in putting concealer under my eyes because it looked as though I had a long night. Well, ok, I looked more like ass if I'm being honest.

Giving up hope that I could make myself look halfway decent, I grabbed my school bag, purse, and keys and was out the door. I drove all the way to Tree Hill High School thinking about my doctor's appointment later and it gave me goose bumps. I really hate going to the doctor, but who doesn't?

The day went by slower than slow. Even though I was gradually feeling better, I ate only a small amount for lunch, afraid that I may get sick at school and that was the last thing I needed to happen. Sure enough, as the last bell rang and I walked out to the parking lot, Brooke was waiting for me.

"Come on TutorGirl, being back here gives me the chills!" Brooke says urging me to get in the car quickly.

"Oh Brooke, but you were barely here when we were in high school" I said sarcastically.

"So I liked to play hooky a lot, sue me!" she laughs as she pulls out of the parking lot and heads into the direction of the doctor's office.

"How's my little niece or nephew doing in there?" I say looking in the mirror and fixing my makeup.

"Oh you know, I'm only about 8 weeks along so we're taking it one day at a time." She says while she rests a hand on her tiny baby bump.

"That's great Brooke. I can't believe you and Peyton actually conceived your babies a week apart. That is so crazy!" I say with excitement.

"I know, that definitely only happens once in a blue moon" she replies as we pull into the parking lot.

Brooke and I head into the office and are put into a room almost immediately. I let Brooke be examined first because, well, she's pregnant. The doctor tells Brooke that the baby is growing at the right pace and everything looks wonderful. Brooke, of course, is thrilled and calls Julian immediately to tell him the news, leaving me alone with the doctor.

"I'm just going to draw some blood so we can run some tests, okay Haley?" the doctor says as she sets up her needle and prepares to draw my blood. After she is finished, she informs me that they'll call me in a couple days to let me know what's going on with me.

"Thank you Doctor Lambert." I say before leaving the room.

"Please, call me Kate. Have a great day Haley" the older woman smiles sincerely at me before turning down the hallway.

Brooke and I head back to the school so I can pick up my car. We both go our separate ways to endure the rest of our evenings; me alone, and her with her family.

A couple days passed before I heard from the doctor. Unfortunately I wasn't home at the time when she called and saw the voicemail light flashing on my answering machine as I walked in the door. I had been grocery shopping because I hadn't in a couple weeks and was running out of practically everything I needed. While putting the groceries away, I pressed the button so that I could hear the voicemails.

_First Unheard Message:_ "Hey Hales, it's your sister Quinn…you know, Quinn Marie James?" she pauses to laugh "Let's do lunch soon ok Miss Teacher? Love you sis" _Click_

_Next Unheard Message: _"Haley-bob, it's your mother. I was thinking about having the whole family together this weekend for a barbeque. Call me later. I love you dear." _Click_

_Next Unheard Message: _"Hi, Haley. This is Doctor Lambert, uh Kate. I was hoping I wouldn't have to leave this on your voicemail, but oh well. We got the results of your blood test and I'd really like you to come to the office as soon as possible to discuss the results. Please don't be alarmed, it's nothing too serious. It's just that I feel like this is something we should discuss in person rather than on voicemail. Anyway, please call to schedule a follow up appointment" _Click_

My heart sunk at her words. I suddenly felt as though I had been told I was dying. I'm only 26, what could be happening to me? I'm young, relatively healthy, I workout, eat right….I finish packing away the groceries and decide to take a bubble bath to take my mind off of things. Before I do so, I decide to call the doctor's office and make an appointment for the morning that way I wouldn't spend the rest of the day worrying. It would be Friday anyway, I'm sure the students would care less if I wasn't there, especially when I had serious issues as of right now.

After stepping out of the tub, I put on some pajamas and curled up in bed and cried myself to sleep.

**A/N: Well, tell me your thoughts! I know it took awhile for this update; I'll try not to let it happen again! Thanks to those of you who reviewed. **

**NEXT CHAPTER:**

**Haley's doctor's appointment!**


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